[R.E.M. released a deluxe, 25th anniversary edition of its debut album, Murmur, today. The two-disc set contains the original album remastered from original tapes and a live concert bootleg from Larry's Hideaway in Toronto from that era. Co-producer Don Dixon will be on my KDHX radio show on Monday night, December 1, between 8 and 10 p.m., as I spotlight Murmur, R.E.M. rarities, outtakes and other assorted ephemera. Here are some thoughts on the album, a quarter-century later. -- Annie
Last year, the calendar gods smiled upon us with the uber-nerdy date of August 8, 2008 (see Happy 808 Day! in honor of the drum machine). In 2009, however, we have the awe-inspiring date of 9-9-09 -- which, among other things, inspired Threadless to put its entire line of T-shirts on sale for $9! OMG! (I recommend this Cure-inspired music tee -- it's what I'll be rocking this fall.) Of course, there are plenty of tunes, bands and musical elements indebted to the numeral -- like Daft Punk's rave-
